and chill the pipe and valve, thus greatly increasing the danger of freezing when the water was shut off.

Our Perfected Hydrant.---In the construction of the "Mathews' Hydrant," Fig. 20, it has been the aim, while introducing many new features of usefulness, to entirely remedy or rather avoid these defects and difficulties inherent in the very principles of construction of the old styles of hydrants, and we can point with pride to their present use in about two hundred cities in the United States and Canada, as evidence of the successful application of this invention, and to the appreciation of its advantages as shown in the use of Mathews' Patent Fire Hydrant by more than one-half of the cities of the United States having water-works. The extensive introduction of these improved hydrants into public use, and the universal recognition of their merits has led to instances of infringement of their valuable features, and attempts to evade the patents by modifications of essential points. Complementary as such imitations may appear, they are none the less annoying, and we feel it due for the protection of our customers as well as for our own security to append a copy of our patent claims:

Letter's Patent issued to W. Race and S.R.C. Mathews, dated January 26, 1858---re-issued to S.R.C. Mathews, July 18, 1871---Patent extended January 26, 1872, and re-issued April 30, 1872. (Vide Fig.20a,page74.)